EU total pig meat exports in May were 19% down on the year at 284.4 thousand tonnes, driven by a sharp fall in fresh/frozen pork shipments to China. However, volumes exported were 9% higher compared to April.

In the week ending 15 July, the EU-spec SPP climbed for the twentieth consecutive week to 164.20p/kg. This is the second highest price recorded since the series began in April 2014, just behind week ending 31 May 2014 when the price reached 164.22p/kg.

During the 12 weeks ended 18 June, the primary pork volume sales decreased by 3% on a year-on-year basis, according to the latest data from Kantar Worldpanel. However, a 5% increase in the average retail price meant that overall spend was up by 2%.

Over the next decade global pig meat production is expected to increase in line with demand, according to the latest OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook. However, pig meat, traditionally the world’s most consumed animal protein, is set to be overtaken by poultry meat.

Exports of fresh and frozen pork from Denmark and the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2017 were stable on a year earlier. However, both countries benefitted from a sharp rise in export prices given the firmer EU pig market in 2017.

Poland will continue to consolidate its position as a major exporter of pig meat in 2017, as production growth is being facilitated by both a recovery in the breeding herd and increasing imports of piglets for finishing in Poland.

Following the marked decline in the German pig herd during 2016, provisional figures from the May pig census now indicate that numbers are stabilising. As at 1 May this year, the total pig herd stood at 27.1 million head, only marginally lower than a year earlier.